The Queen of Hearts
by N.L. Mars
Summary: The Heart Coral has been stolen, now in possesion of a wrathful Pokemon, hell-bent on ruling the world of Hoenn. Alice, a young girl beginning her Pokemon adventure, finds herself trapped in a world where evil prevails. Her ally might just be her enemy.
1. Chapter 1

**The Queen of Hearts**

**Chapter One **

_The sky was blackened with the intense storm clouds that gathered overhead. Flashes of light, followed by the roar of thunder, stretched through the sky. This was a night of dismay, a night of uneasiness. The angry swells of the waves foamed rabidly, crashing against the jutting rocks and the loose sand. All the pokémon had buried themselves deep beneath the waves of the ocean. The land dwellers hid as far inland as they were able to. _

_In the shallow water above the Seafloor Cavern, the Aquatic Council were gathered. These Pokémon held total control of the seas of Hoenn. The Council leader was Kyogre, the King of the Seas. Surrounding him were the rest of the Council; Relicanth, Walrein, Wailord, Lanturn, Kingdra and Swampert. They were ancient. Born when the sea was born. They were talking in hushed voices, arguing over the decision to be made._

_Before them stood the elegant and graceful misfit, a prisoner to her own greed and selfishness. Wrapped in the painful shackles of tentacles reaching from beneath the surface, she coiled around a totem, restrained. Seething hatred was spread across her otherwise beautiful face. Her pale scales glowed with each flash of lightning. Blood was seeping from the few wounds she had across her long, attractive body. Eagerly, she watched the Council, awaiting their decision. Her impatience was slowly getting the better of her, and her tail flicked impatiently. _

_At last, the ancient pokémon separated from their conversation, a decision finally made. Silence fell across the Council._

_Kyogre spoke, his voice loud and booming, "We have reached out final verdict. Because of the terror you have brought with you, because of the destruction you employed, you will be imprisoned within the deepest depths of the oceans. The shackles of justice shall chain you. Never shall you see the light of day again. Never shall you be able to wreak havoc upon our oceans again."_

_Their captive snarled at the elder pokémon. She was never able to stand their rules of equality and justice. She wanted a revolution, a world where she was queen. Where she was God. But they held her back, interrupting her plans, destroying all she worked for._

_The creature screamed as tentacles from mighty tentacruel pulled her down, dragging her into the dark abyss of the submerged world. She flailed about, her sparkling blue tail thrashing about, attempting to hack away at the solid tentacles that held her in place. The cobalt and rose tinted fan at the end of her tail was quivering wildly. Her wild eyes blazed with fury._

"_You will regret this!" shrieked the beautiful eel. "You will regret ever defying Moana the Milotic!" Her voice drowned out as she was pulled further into the icy depths of her sunken prison, of her submerged hell. _

In a town far from the sea, Oldale Town, a young girl was beginning her pokémon journey. Her backpack was packed with her essentials; a fold out tent, a thin sleeping bag, and two spare changes of clothes. Her satchel was half-packed, with the girl throwing half her contents across the room, deciding what should and should not be brought along with her.

"Awww, I wish I could bring you, Spinny," the girl moaned sadly, cuddling a plush toy in the shape of a Spinda. One of its' ears had been torn off and stitched back on with purple thread. The girl put down the toy, and packed her wallet into her satchel, along with a few empty pokéballs and a bottle of water. She looked around the room, scratching her head, wondering if there was anything else she needed to pack.

Once assured that she didn't need anything else, she grabbed her two bags and headed downstairs where the rest of her family were waiting for her. It was a picture-esque view, an image of a perfect family; a mother, a father, a bubbly little boy, a teenage girl about to embark on her first adventure, and the family pet, a poochyena.

"We're so proud of you, Alice," the girls' father said, enveloping her into a hug. Her mother joined in, and soon, tears of happiness and pride were being shed.

"Mum, dad, stop crying already," Alice laughed. "I'll be back soon. And you know I'll call every once in a while."

"We know, honey. But it's just going to be hard to get used to not having anything break every few minutes, or not hearing screams of panic coming from your room."

Alice giggled. "I understand. Try not to let it affect you too much, okay?"

Her parents smiled in response, and her father opened the door for his daughter. They said their last goodbyes to each other, and the girl turned her back on her home, walking towards Littleroot Town, where she would finally be able to obtain her first pokémon. She was jittery with nerves and excitement.

For months, she had contemplated which of the three starter pokémon of Hoenn she should pick, but still couldn't make up her mind. She tried deducing which of the three would be most effective against most gyms, but they were all seemingly equal in their own way. Finally, she decided that she would make her choice upon seeing the pokémon and observing their behaviours and personalities. It would be no use to get a stubborn, selfish Treeko when a loyal and obedient Torchic was available.

The journey to Littleroot Town only took about half an hour; the two towns were incredibly close to each other, so close they could have easily merged and became one town. Alice had been to Littleroot Town on many occasions, mainly to pass the compulsory course that all would-be trainers had to go through. The course consisted of lessons teaching the students the very basic aspects of pokémon and battling. It was only after completion of this course was anyone able to obtain their starter pokémon.

She found the large grey-painted laboratory with ease, and stepped inside, feeling the cool air shroud around her. Upon hearing her footsteps, Professor Birch turned and smiled.

"Welcome, Alice!," he said, stretching out a hand. They shook, and he led the girl out back, to a pen where three pokémon were frolicking.

Treeko, a grass gecko-like pokémon, moved with the grace and elegance of a cat. Flexing its' lanky limbs, it stared up at Alice, its large yellow eyes boring into her own. Moments later, its' eyes diverted, and it soon became disinterested in the girl, focusing its attention on promoting the growth of the grass surrounding it. Alice frowned in thought, observing its deep concentration as the grass surrounding it grew several centimetres. It stopped and smiled at its work.

The next pokémon Alice looked to was Mudkip, a small water type. It ran towards the bars, jumping up, wanting to be seen. It wagged its' opaque tail happily, meowing excitedly. Alice thought it to be cute, but a bit too much of an attention seeker, as it was nudging Torchic out of the way, in order to get the most of Alice's interest. It blew out a couple of tiny bubbles, which floated up towards Alice, popping as one touched the tip of her nose, making the young girl giggle.

Even though Torchic was being pushed out of the way by Mudkip, it kept its cool. It simply threatened the mud fish pokémon with its fire breathing powers, by breathing up an ember. It laughed when Mudkip cowered away, with its tail sunken, between its legs. It then looked up at Alice with its beady brown eyes and chirped innocently, kicking its leg backwards to cover Mudkip with sand, as if hiding the evidence of its cruel prank on the mudfish.

"Well, Alice, which pokémon do you choose?" Professor Birch asked. "Remember, this is going to be your partner for life, so think hard."

Alice nodded, and bit her lip, deep in thought. Treeko seemed smart, calm and collected. It would be good for tactical battles, but it had no interest in Alice. Both Mudkip and Torchic were attention seekers, and it seemed evident that they both wanted to go on a journey with her. It was going to be tough for Alice to decide between the tiny orange chick and the blue mud fish.

Clenching her eyes shut and holding her breath, she answered. "I choose Mudkip."

When she opened her eyes, she saw Mudkip jump excitedly, making squeaking noises, spouting water like a fountain, whilst Torchic had a downhearted expression. She felt sorry for Torchic, wishing she could have both. But such is life. And as Alice expected, Treeko paid no notice to what had happened, sitting in the patch of grass he had grown, eyes closed in content.

Professor Birch nodded, and retrieved a pokéball with a blue teardrop engraved just above the centre button. He recalled Mudkip into the ball, and the pokémon turned red, and distorted, pulling towards the ball.

He handed a Pokédex and the Mudkip's ball to Alice, and the moment her fingertips touched the ball, she felt a surreal sensation wash over her, filling her with a pleasant warmth. She knew at that instant, that she had chosen the right pokémon, that she was going to share many an amazing memories with the little pokémon on their journey together.

Alice walked with Mudkip by her side. They were on Route 101, the route separating Littleroot and Oldale towns, and Alice was taking in the landscape. She didn't know when she would see this place again. It might be years before she returned to this place. She had spent her childhood hiding within the hollow tree trunks, skipping over rocks. The boughs of the trees stretched over the road, blocking out the sunlight. The road was just a dirt track, worn by pokémon and human alike.

"Mudkip," Alice said quietly. The pokémon turned to her, eyes eager to hear what she had to say. "I think it's prime time I named you. Don't you think? Imagine, calling you Mudkip. It would be like calling a cat 'Cat', or a dog 'Dog'. Wouldn't that be funny?" Alice laughed happily, finding the idea quite humorous. Mudkip seemed to agree with the name change, and jumped around at her feet, making squeaking barking sounds.

"Well, what should I call you then? You're a boy, so a nice manly name would suit you just fine." Mudkip stood proudly, pushing his breast out, head raised high, making Alice giggle and reach down to pet him.

"How about Dover?" Alice asked. Mudkip scrunched up his face, scowling at the name. "Okay, okay. What do you think of Kano?" Mudkip shook his head, clearly displeased. "What about Murdoch?"

At the sound of the name, Mudkip bounced excitedly, nodding his head wildly.

Alice smiled. "Murdoch it is, then."

And so, Alice and Murdoch took the first steps of their journey, not knowing where the wind would take them, not knowing where they would be steered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The girl and her pokémon had travelled for a few hours, walking and taking in the scenery. They were currently on Route 102. Alice had been through this route of course, and knew which paths to take; most led to dead ends or flimsy traps that children set. Murdoch was walking alongside her. Alice wanted some company; she wasn't one to enjoy solitude. And Murdoch seemed to enjoy the exercise and the view.

They came across a small patch of dark, moist dirt, with two berry trees in full bloom. Murdoch looked at his trainer expectantly, his eyes begging for an explanation of some sorts.

"These are berry trees," Alice started, walking towards them, the mudkip following. "Trainers are able to pick a few from each tree to use for their pokémon journeys. But it's only courteous that they replant one of the berries." She stood on her tippy-toes, reaching for the high boughs of an Oran tree. The tree was covered in thick, lush foliage, dotted with plump, blue fruit. Alice had picked five from the tree, then walked a few steps away from the tree where she knelt down and replanted one of the berries she had picked. She then repeated the process on the second tree, a Pecha tree, when something fell from the thick leafy branches. It collided with Alice's head, knocking her to the ground.

Murdoch hissed and raised his haunches, attempting to intimidate the object that had fallen and injured his master. Alice awoke in a daze, and saw what had hit her: a brown rounded pokémon with an acorn cap on its head. It was on its back, attempting to roll over to get onto its tiny feet.

"Well hey there, lil' guy," Alice said, picking herself up. "Want some help?"

She bent down and adjusted the seed pokémon so that it was standing firmly on its two feet. Alice took her Pokédex from her pocket and a monotone voice sounded from the speaker: "Seedot, the Acorn Pokémon. A solitary pokémon that hangs off of branches to absorb nutrients from the tree. It sometimes drops, often startling passersby's."

Alice looked up from the Pokédex screen to discover that seedot had disappeared. Annoyance swept over her. She had really wanted to catch the pokémon. Letting out a sigh, she shook her head in disbelief and turned towards a worried Murdoch.

"Hey, buddy, I'm just fine. No need to worry," Alice said, patting Murdoch on the head.

Despite the short amount of time they had spent together, a bond had grown between the two.

A short while later, a wurmple appeared, lying lazily in the middle of the road. Alice, feeling excited, saw this as a perfect opportunity to train Murdoch for a while. She looked at the little blue water pokémon and they nodded at each other, both thinking the exact same thing –battle.

Murdoch scurried forward and tackled the slumped wurmple. A surprised chirp erupted from the red worm pokémon, and it sprung up, dazed and confused.

"Great, Murdoch. Now tackle again!" Alice commanded, hands balled up into fists. This was their first battle, and it gave Alice nerves to think about it.

Murdoch nodded at his master's request and lunged himself at the drowsy wurmple. In retaliation, wurmple sprayed a sticky substance onto Murdoch, which hardened almost immediately into a thick white string, holding the water pokémon in place; its' String Shot.

Panic overwhelmed Alice, and her mind went blank. "Oh God, what should I do?" she asked herself anxiously. "Um, Murdoch, try to wriggle your way out of the string!"

Murdoch didn't need her to tell him that, he was struggling the entire time, but he knew she was nervous. This was their first battle, after all. He too felt the nauseating effects of first-battle-syndrome.

Just as the wurmple was about to launch a tackle, Murdoch managed to break free of his stringy prison. Taking a split second to take in what was happening, he jumped forward. The two tackles collided, and both pokémon were knocked back with the force. But only one was still conscious.

"Well done, Murdoch!" Alice cheered as she saw the red worm pokémon slump forward, unconscious. Murdoch looked at her proudly, a smile upon his tiny face.

Two more times they encountered various pokémon, one a poochyena and the other another wurmple. After defeating the wurmple, a beeping sound was heard from Alice's pocket. Alice took out her Pokédex from where the sound came from, and opened it up.

"New move learnt," the monotonous voice of the Pokédex said. "Mud Slap learnt."

Alice looked at the Pokédex, then averted her eyes towards Murdoch, then back at the Pokédex before realising what had happened. A huge grin appeared on her face. "Murdoch!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!"

She lifted the tiny pokémon up in the air, and spun around in circles. Murdoch meowed happily.

A rustle disturbed their celebration, and they both fell silent, looking in the direction of the bushes. They waited until a figure emerged; a silver-shaded humanoid pokémon.

Quickly raising her Pokédex, the monotonous voice said, "Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. It reads the minds of its opponents to determine which move it should use next."

"If it can read minds, then it must be psychic!" Alice exclaimed, putting away the machine. "Go, Murdoch! Weaken it with your tackle attack!"

Murdoch jumped at the small creature, hitting itself against the ralts. It squealed, and covered its armoured face in retaliation. After regaining its posture, it growled at Murdoch, who cowered in fright.

"Murdoch, use tackle once more!"

Murdoch nodded and proceeded to plummet at the opponent. The collision bruised both the pokémon. They both collapsed, whining in pain. Murdoch was able to stand up after a few moments, ralts wheezing heavily, eyes closed in exhaustion.

Alice was stunned when she saw the defeat of the grey human-like pokémon. She almost forgot about the Pokéball in her hand that she had prepared for catching this uncommon pokémon. She quickly threw it, not quite sure if she had thrown it properly.

Her breath held in her throat as the fainted pokémon glowed a bright red, and was enveloped within the tight confines of the Pokéball. It shook madly, ceasing after some time. It shook once more. And again. Alice, waiting for the wickedly nerve-wracking shaking to end, bit her lip. She chewed on it as the ball came to a stop. Everything was dead silent. Time seemed be stretched out. This anxiety was unbearable for the girl.

Only until she heard the tedious voice of her Pokédex did she feel a calmness sweep over her.

"New pokémon caught: Ralts. Gender: female. Shy in nature. Standing by for nickname."

"Hm, I wonder what I should call this little lady," Alice wondered aloud, looking down at Murdoch. She pressed the button on her newly acquired pokémon's ball, watching the ralts materialised from a red beam. It stared up at its' new owner, confusion overwhelming it.

Alice crouched down, mimicking the ralts' height. She had learnt in the two-week pokémon course she had attended that when addressing new, shy pokémon, it is best to imitate their height. The confrontation is less intimidating that way, apparently.

"What sort of name would you like?" she asked the cowering pokémon. "Maybe Vanora?"

Ralts thought for a bit. _Vanora._ It was quite an exotic sounding name. It sounded strong, brave, heroic. Everything she wasn't. A small chirp escaped from the fragile pokémons' mouth, saying: "_Yes, you want to make me everything I never was. Your choice of name makes me feel like anything can be accomplished." _She stood as tall as she could reach, head held high and proud.

"Very well then, Vanora it is," Alice said, smiling. She gently placed her hand on the green helmet that covered its eyes, and petted it. It purred happily.

"Nickname confirmed: Vanora," came the dull voice of the machine in Alice's pocket.

Together, the three of them walked down the dirt path on their way to Petalburg City as the scarlet sun sank behind the thick dense roof of boughs, ending the first day of Alice's journey.

At the exact moment that Alice had turned to marvel at the setting sun, on the other side of the continent, something was stirring. The swells of the waves were crashing violently, an uneasiness settling deep beneath the surface of the ocean. As a wise Kingdra hovered on the surface, observing the unrest, his companion, Relicanth, spoke:

"She's awoken."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The water in the ocean was rushing uneasily. The current wasn't acting as predictable as it had always been. There was an evident restlessness on the islands scattered in the seas of Hoenn. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Far below the swells, something roused. As it twitched, the sand surrounding it clouded, muddying the water. It flicked its' tail menacingly, striking at a cavern wall. Rocks crumbled from the broken area, tumbling into the sand. All the creature could see was black. Just a bleak nothingness that had surrounded her since she had been imprisoned here.

It was cold. Not even the current would reach her here. All this lonely creature had for entertainment was harsh vigorous training, teamed with a constant ache in her heart from the betrayal of her fellow water-type beasts. They should have agreed with her, they should have joined her. Their lives would have been spared. But no, they deemed her revolutionary ideas too radical, too reckless. Her ideas were fanatical, not at all what the Aquatic Council had in mind.

But she would show them. She would show them just how marvellous the world could be for water pokémon if her revolutionary ideologies were put forward.

For the few hundred years that she had been entombed within the dark, murky depths of the Hoenn seas, Moana had been in solitary confinement, embracing the darkness that surrounded her, letting her heart grip the evil. Her mind festered over time, and ghoulish thoughts overcame her cognitive abilities.

And never once did she stop training.

As time flickered past, the serpentine beast grew stronger. And with her newfound strength came her overwhelming lust for power. She would stop at nothing this time.

She continued slapping the wall of the cavern again. And would continue to do so until she broke free.

* * *

The small city of Petalburg sparkled in the night, its lights twinkling. It was past 8 pm when Alice and her companions arrived in the small city. Their first destination was the Pokémon Centre, where the two pokémon would heal up, after an entire afternoon of training. Whilst training, Vanora managed to become strong enough to learn Confusion.

"Good evening!" smiled the pink-haired nurse that was stationed at the counter. "How may I help you?"

"I'd like to get these guys looked over and healed up, if that's no problem," Alice said as politely as she could muster.

"Of course it's no problem. That's why I'm here!" The nurse wouldn't stop smiling, even whilst talking.

Alice's pokémon were taken, and she went up to a room she had loaned for the night. Tonight, she wouldn't need to camp out, but this was probably a one-off thing. She knew she shouldn't get too used to this. Laying her bag on the bunk, she stretched her back and wondered what to do now. Her stomach rumbled, deciding for her.

Heading downstairs towards the cafeteria, something caught Alice's eye. It was a map of the oceanic route. Alice had never seen the ocean before, despite being geographically close, but the thick forest prevented any path to the water. Just the sight of a map of the ocean thrilled her to no end. Her finger grazed on the pier on route 104, just outside Petalburg city, and traced over the sea route, going over routes 105 and 106, passing tiny islands inhabited by washed up treasures and exotic pokémon.

Her finger dragged across the paper, over to Dewford Town, where a box on the side indicated that a gym inhabited this island, as well as Granite Cave, where numerous corporations had once mined, robbing the cave of its rich, natural source of granite. Now, it was an empty cave with no purpose. Not even pokémon inhabited the bare cavern.

From there, her finger traced over routes 107 to 109, an empty stretch of water, to the wide beach of Slateport. Past Slateport, her finger went, outlining the course towards Lilycove, and the hundreds of miles that separated the two cities, littered with islands, such as Mossdeep, Sootopolis and hundreds more. One portion of the map –between routes 127 and 128- was blacked out, with a note that read: "Area Undiscovered". Alice wondered what great treasures may be hidden there.

She snapped out of her daze when her stomach growled deeply and loudly. Blushing, she looked around to see if anyone had heard, then sighed in relief to discover she was the only one in the corridor.

In the cafeteria, she grabbed some hot food for dinner and sat herself down in an empty seat. While she ate, she thought back about the days events, and how surreal it all seemed to be. She already had two great friends accompanying her on this journey, and many more were surely bound to appear. The sights she would see, the people she would meet, the exotic fruits she would taste –the anticipation astounded her. What made her most excited was the idea of seeing the beauty of the ocean, and feeling the crisp wind with its salty tang.

After dinner, she went to collect her pokémon. They had already been fed, so she didn't have to worry about that chore at the moment. It was late already, time for bed.

And as Alice and her pokémon lay, with their eyes closed, they each pondered of their future, of how the entire course of their lives had changed because of this one day. And it was an amazing thought. One by one, they fell asleep with a smile on their face, due to the pleasant thoughts of what the future would hold for them.

* * *

Sun filtered through the small room through the tiny gaps in the blinds. A thin ray of sunlight seeped onto the floor, creating a pathway towards the bed. Alice sighed as she was awoken from her slumber, wiping away the stray brown hair that tickled her face.

Yawning, she pulled herself out of bed and gathered her things, getting ready for this new day. She was planning to book a gym battle for sometime in the afternoon, and train her pokémon up before that. Even if she lost, it wouldn't be too much of an issue, because it would provide plenty of experience for her pokémon, which would benefit her the next day, if she decided to have a rematch.

Her friends started waking up, and before long, they were sitting in the cafeteria of the Pokémon Centre, eating breakfast. Afterwards, Alice packed a lunch consisting of various sandwiches, fruit and candy bars. It would be enough for the rest of the day for the three of them.

Their first destination was the Petalburg Gym. As Alice walked inside the plain-looking building, the cool air surprised her. Despite being so early in the morning, it was already beginning to heat up. Besides, this part of Hoenn was known for its constant summer feel.

A man in a white uniform stood behind a desk. He looked up at Alice as she approached him.

"Hi, how can I help you?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"I'd like to book a gym battle for sometime this afternoon, if that's alright," Alice said, fidgeting slightly.

"Of course. Is 6.30 alright? It's the only time available in the afternoon. Unless you would prefer 8.30?..." the man's voice trailed off.

"Oh, no! 6.30 is just fine."

"May I have your Pokédex, so that I may determine the level range of your pokémon?"

Alice nodded and handed him the red machine.

The man fiddled with the buttons until it spoke: "Mudkip, Murdoch, level 9; Ralts, Vanora, level 8. Level range appropriate: 10-14." The machine whirred for a moment, then switched off. The man returned it to her, then typed something into a computer.

Alice, not knowing what had just happened, spoke up, "Excuse me, but what was that for?"

"Oh, well, since we get a wide variety of pokémon trainers here from all across the continent, our gym leader has to be able to cater for each trainer and their level range. It would be no use to pit a level 5 shroomish against a level 40 salamence!" The man chortled at this apparent humour. Alice's face twitched.

"What is this level system?" she asked, curious for more information. "How is it determined and calculated?"

The man's laughter stopped abruptly. Cringing, Alice knew that she was a master at making awkward situations. "Well, uh, I'm not 100% sure how it works, but it has something to do with their growth since they were obtained, and their strength. I think it's determined by the attacks they know, or something like that. Like, a ralts knows how to learn confusion at about the 6th level."

Alice nodded, pretending she knew what he was talking about. In reality, she was even more confused than when she asked the question.

She left without another word, and headed back to route 102 to train for the duration of the day. Maybe, she'd be lucky enough to come across a trainer, who'd be willing to battle her and assess her pokémons progress.

It was going to be a long and tiring day, Alice knew.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The small pond on route 102 was a serene place. The boughs of various conifer stretched out, casting dancing shadows on the sandy banks that met with the sapphire pool. Lotad floated peacefully across the surface, and the odd marill would emerge and sunbake in the warm, sunny patches.

Amidst the peace and serenity shouts of excitement were heard, startling a few of the pokémon –specifically the ones termed 'rare', who were known to be quite wary of humans, such as marill or surskit- back into the clear sparkling depths of the water.

"Come on Ziggy!" cried a young boy with grazed knees. "Headbutt that water rat!"

The brown, striped raccoon pokémon swiftly shuffled towards Murdoch, its head lowered and ready for impact. Instead of feeling the impact of a soft, slimy body, it collided with a thick trunk of a looming oak.

"Murdoch, Water Gun!" Alice shouted from the sidelines, watching as a strong stream of water gushed from her pokémon's mouth.

Within seconds, the shaggy fur of the dazed zigzagoon was sopping. Its eyes were drooping, and it looked as if on the brink of exhaustion. It was coughing wildly, trying to rid its lungs of the liquid that invaded it.

Biting his lip, the young opponent withdrew the pokémon, replacing it with a poochyena that barked and growled upon materialization. It immediately ran towards the panting mudkip, fangs bared. And its speed was incredible. To Alice's eyes, the dark pokémon was just a black blur, dashing this way and that, confusing the girl and her pokémon.

"Poochy, use bite now! Rip its throat out! Tear it to shreds! Annihilate it!" screamed the over-confident, and slightly sadistic boy. Alice didn't quite know how to react to that statement. All she knew was that she was thankful that once this battle was over, she wouldn't be seeing this terrifying and morbid kid. Who knew someone so innocent looking could be so scary?

The poochyena lunged at Murdoch, and pushed its jagged fangs into Murdoch's hide. The tiny mudkip yelped in pain, screeching loudly. A dark violet substance emerged from the wounds, dripping onto the grass.

Murdoch was still within the poochyenas deadly grip when he fainted. The dog finally released Murdoch, licking its bloody maw, drenched with violet blood.

Alice ran forward, picking up the wounded pokémon, cradling it in her arms, whispering soothing words into its ears.

"Well?" asked the boy, hands on hips, in an expectant tone.

"Well what?" Alice asked, looking up from her friend.

"Are you going to send out your next pokémon, or are you going to forfeit?"

Alice bit her lip. Poochyena were of the dark-type category. Ralts were of the psychic-type. And it was common knowledge that dark overruled psychic. Sending out Vanora, despite how strong she had gotten during the course of the day, would be reckless and foolish.

"I forfeit," Alice said numbly. It was ever so slightly humiliating to say that, but it was better than putting another one of her friends through such pain.

The boy cheered, picking up his vicious poochyena. "Tenth win in a row! We're gonna get that badge soon!"

_Wow, his tenth win in a row_, Alice thought to herself. _And this is my first trainer battle _and _my first loss._ Alice sighed. She rummaged through her bag, looking for a potion bottle to apply onto Murdochs' wounds.

Despite their loss, Alice believed that Murdoch gained a lot from their battle. His speed had improved greatly, from the zigzagoon foe that had the agility of a raichu.

Murdoch's eyes opened a fraction, and he mewed softly. He was prepared for another few hours of training.

It was already almost 4pm when Alice and her companions entered the Petalburg City Pokémon Centre. While her pokémon were resting up, Alice looked for guidance in the dusty old tomes that littered the shelves of the lobby. They all stated that this particular gym was home of normal-type pokémon. So, according to her pokémons' levels, Alice's opponents should fall within the range of skitty or zigzagoon.

At the thought of fighting against another zigzagoon, Alice's stomach lurched. Murdoch was her stronger pokémon, and he still struggled considerably, despite winning that round. Although since that battle, he had grown a bit stronger, Alice doubted that he could beat a gym leaders' zigzagoon, which would, undoubtedly, be much more stronger than a typical trainers'.

She kept reading until it was almost time for the gym battle, then collected her pokémon and headed out into the quaint, clean street, admiring the picturesque view around her. The houses were not unlike the ones in Oldale and Littleroot towns, but there was a sort of modernism attached to the architecture at the same time. Alice supposed that it was because Petalburg was not far from the city, Rustboro, and had thusly evolved to the modernism that attracted so many to the cities.

Alice entered the plain-looking building that was the gym. It stood out from all the other buildings because of its lack of architectural detail and colour. Just a plain white concrete building with a few windows and a large set of oak doors.

Inside, the same secretary that had served Alice earlier looked up as she walked in, and flashed her a brilliant, gleaming smile.

"Hello there. Your appointment will begin shortly. While you wait, take a seat, please."

For some time, Alice sat twiddling her thumbs, waiting impatiently. She noticed that one of the lights was flickering slightly, and wondered if the secretary noticed that. Alice figured that after spending so much time in the building, he was sure to have noticed it.

She was distracted from her train of thought by a voice call out her name. She looked up and saw the secretary gesturing towards an open door.

Anxiously, Alice walked through it and discovered herself to be in a room that was quite plain, and unadorned. The floor was painted with the typical white geometrical lines that were seen in championship matches. It was everything she expected to be in the gym that catered for normal types.

On either side of the arena was a podium, and on the far side, she saw the figure of a tall male standing atop his pedestal. Alice quickly deducted that this was Norman, and decided that he was every bit as normal as his gym.

As Alice approached the podium, her fingers lingering above her pokéballs, she felt a nervous pang strike through her. She knew that this was not the last time she'd feel this way on her journey.

"This is a battle to win the Balance Badge from the Petalburg Gym. Each trainer may use up to two pokémon," called out the referee from the side of the bare field.

Norman looked at Alice, his bleak brown eyes boring into her own, giving Alice more anxiety as each second passed.

"The battle will commence now!" exclaimed the referee. "Send out your first pokémon now."

Alice fingered one of the balls that hung on her belt, then enlarged it and threw it towards the field, at the same time that Norman's pokémon started materialising.

Vanora was Alice's first pokémon to battle. Alice has learnt from the books in the Pokémon Centre that gym leaders usually saved their strongest pokémon for last, so she was wisely going to save her strongest for last.

On the other side of the field, a tiny cat pokémon was stretching out, rubbing its paw against its face, and against the sparkling coin situated upon its forehead. It then started skipping across the field daintily, without a care in the world.

Vanora, on the other hand, was motionless, save for her tiny chest heaving from the anxiety that was thrust upon her. But her face never showed what she was feeling, and remained cold and stern.

"Vanora, use Confusion," Alice said, her voice crackling, whilst Norman shouted with such vigor and confidence, "Meowth, scratch!"

The feline pounced gracefully, and bounded on padded paws towards the anxious ralts. Just as the meowths' paw was outstretched, with talons spread out, a purple haze surrounded Vanora, the glided towards the cat, which was now hanging in midair, frozen in time, claws reaching vainly towards its opponent. With both pokémon enveloped in the purple aura, the haze shimmering with ripples that surged through it, the two pokémon seemed to have switched mentalities; panic was strewn across the meowth's face, and Vanora seemed to be brimming with confidence.

A moment later, the purple haze disappeared and the cat fell to the ground, too dazed to retract its claws, and thus falling on its paws, breaking them and allowing for the claws to gouge themselves into the cats belly. A howl of pain echoed throughout the building as the meowth rocked to its side, pulling its inch long nails from its flesh with much difficulty. Viscous liquid of a burgundy tint soaked into the creamy fur, matting it as it slowly began drying.

It took a few more seconds for the wounded pokémon to gather its thoughts and pull itself up on its paws, but with its clumsily broken paws, that was an almost impossible feat.

Vanora looked back to her trainer and saw the elevated mood and the wildly excited look in Alice's eyes. Her only sign of anxiety was her teeth biting lightly at her bottom lip. Despite this, Vanora felt even more confident and grinned at her trainer. She knew this was odd, her overwhelming confidence. The ralts had always been a timid pokémon, prone to anxiety and cowering away in the face of danger. She thought herself to be insignificant and worthless. Whilst all the other ralts in the colony evolved and left for adventures of their own, Vanora was forced to stay behind, her fear of life preventing her from being able to learn how to defend herself.

Once more, the ralts called upon a purple mist that enveloped both her and the pained meowth. The cat became absolutely motionless, and looked to be a disgusting statue depicting pain and gore.

When the purple aura passed, the meowths' vision distorted, with all shapes becoming increasingly blurred and fearsome, with logic fighting against the senses, trying to get the gist of what his tired eyes presented him. But still, it swayed on broken paws, keeping its clumsy stance, determined to win the battle to gain the affection of its trainer.

"Meowth, use bite," Norman said calmly. Alice noted that the overflowing confidence was now gone. This in turn gave her an increased confidence. What surprised her most was the extensive extraneous damage that Vanora's Confusion attack had caused. Despite the many pokémon that Vanora had battled today, only three managed to be afflicted with the confused status. But they were only seedot and lotad, and the most their confusion affected them was when they stumbled over their feet, lumbering into rocks or trees.

To be honest, this unwilling self-mutilation that the meowth was putting itself through was devastating –its yowls were had not stopped since its legs first snapped- and yet at the same time, Alice felt proud of Vanora's strength, regardless of the fact that the confused status was mostly a figment of luck, and had no connection to power.

The meowths' head bobbed slightly before falling down onto the ground, with a pained look painted across its rounded face.

"Norman's meowth has fainted; Alice's ralts is the winner," the referee called out, making Vanora's incredible victory official. "Norman, please send out your next pokémon."

The apprehensive pokémon could hardly believe the events that had just played before her. She knew how much this would mean to Alice, and she didn't need to look back at her master to feel the excitement radiating from her. Vanora couldn't feel much more happier than this. She had accomplished so much in the last few minutes, more than she had accomplished in the seven years prior to meeting Alice.

Norman grunted angrily, then withdrew the fainted meowth from the arena, replacing it with a pokémon that already began lazing about the moment it materialized from its pokéball. It refused to open its eyes as it stretched itself out into a comfortable position, filling Alice and her pokémon with confusion.

"You know what to do," Alice encouraged Vanora. The pokémon nodded, slightly worn out from the intense battle it had ended before.

The slakoth still hadn't moved, its eyes were still closed, and it barely seemed to be alive. Vanora summoned the familiar violet mist, her only offensive attack, and just like before, the vapour enveloping the lazy opponent. It didn't seem to notice the attack, and after the haze disappeared, it slowly started to make its way towards Vanora, large claws outstretched.

The attack caused substantial damage to the young psychic pokémon, much to both Alice's and Vanora's surprise. Deep gashes covered Vanora's right side, overflowing with an olive-tinted liquid.

Once again, Vanora conjured up the purple haze, and once again, the slakoth scratched Vanora, leaving behind nasty wounds on her pale grey skin. This process repeated once more before Vanora toppled over, her wounds leaking with her green blood.

"Alice's ralts is unable to battle, please send out your second pokémon," called out the referee.

Downhearted, Alice withdrew Vanora's crippled body, and replaced it with the energetic form of Murdoch, who skipped around.

Raising Vanora's ball to her lips, Alice whispered, "You did really well." And she meant it. She had never been prouder of the human-like pokémon; she was able to defeat a high levelled pokémon –a gym leader's, no less- all by herself. That was quite an achievement.

As Murdoch materialised, he mewed lightly, before springing forward, jumping about, preparing himself for the battle that lay ahead. To his surprise, his opponent just lay still, eyes closed, causing the cobalt pokémon to tense up, and raise its haunches.

"Murdoch, use Water Gun!" Alice exclaimed. Now that the battle had become a one-on-one, there was much tension. Though, Murdoch seemed oblivious to the atmospheric strain that swathed the simple arena; he was bouncing around excitedly, brimming with overconfidence. Alice hoped that that wouldn't be his weakness and thusly, her downfall in the battle.

Murdoch paused for a moment, only to bring up a jet of icy water that plummeted from his gaping mouth. The stream of water hit the target with such ferocity that the basking sloth pokémon managed to be flipped onto its back, and slide a few feet from its resting place. A groan of discomfort erupted from its furry mouth, and it slowly began crawling towards the energetic mudkip, which had resumed bouncing around.

"Slakoth, scratch!" Norman commanded, his clenched knuckles turning white. He was a gym leader, and though he had been defeated a few times, it was not something he particularly enjoyed; it was quite a stab at his pride.

The slow pokémon crawled, inch by inch, towards the bouncing mudkip, but was never quite able to reach it; Murdoch would simply skip over the lagging beast. The slakoth was showing signs of weakness.

"Slakoth, when it comes close, swipe at it!" Norman called out, wiping the sweat from his brow. It was infuriating how slow his pokémon was. It was an excellent pokémon, there was no doubt about it: its strength overwhelmed even the most powerful rookie trainers, but its speed –or lack of- meant for an easy defeat.

Murdoch continued skipping about, mocking its opponent. Every once in a while, it would expel a burst of water from its mouth, which would constantly hit the slakoth square on. But Murdoch's overconfidence got the better of it when he decided to jump merrily over the battered and sopping body of the slakoth. The mighty claws reached up just as Murdoch took his jump, and hooked themselves onto the crest upon his head, dragging him downwards, slamming him into the ground. With the slakoth's other clawed paw, it took a deadly swipe, cutting through the slick, thin membrane of Murdoch's outer layer of skin, and into his fleshy hide.

Murdoch was trapped between the outstretched talons of its opponent, with deep gashes overflowing with blood so violet it looked to be wine. It mewed in pain as it attempted to free itself from its prison, but the slakoth toyed with him, the way an ekans toys with a rattata before devouring it. A wide grin of satisfaction spread across the slakoths' russet face, and it swiped once more at the whimpering mudkip.

"Murdoch, get yourself out of there!" Alice almost screamed out; she was so on edge that she couldn't keep a straight composure, or keep her anxiety in check. She knew that something bad like this would happen, and it could cost her first badge.

"Slakoth, finish it off," Norman said calmly. He could see that he was now dominating the battle, and victory was inevitable. With his pokémons' great strength, he was sure to win after a few more attacks. As long as the mudkip stayed imprisoned behind the makeshift bars of the slakoths' claws.

But Murdoch's skin was slimy, constantly secreting a viscous goo. After flailing about for a while, he managed to get his crest unhooked from the keratin scimitars that held him in place. After that, all attempts of keeping Murdoch at bay were futile. The tiny mudkip jumped up onto the slakoth's head before pouncing as far as he could, narrowly avoiding a slash from those gleaming claws.

Alice expelled a breath of air that had caught in her throat. Murdoch had a chance now, but he was badly wounded, leaving a trail of blood that looked to be liquid amethysts, sparkling under the bright lights that hung high above.

"Murdoch, use Water Gun!" Alice called out, feeling slightly giddy. She began imagining how amazing and how _awesome _it would be to win her first badge on her first try. She imagined what her parents might say to the news: _"Well done Alice! We knew that you'd be able to conquer your nerves and obtain your first badge. And look, it's only been two days. Oh, we're so proud of you. Hayley managed to get her first badge on her second day too."_

Alice gritted her teeth at the string of negative thoughts that now started to plague her mind. She didn't want to hear from her parents about how much her older sister had achieved. She didn't want to lurk in the shadows of Hayley's fame and popularity. She wanted to be known as _Alice_, not _Hayley's Sister_. Which is why it would mean so much to her if she won this battle. After getting her first taste at losing earlier that day, Alice felt bitter, and hated that feeling.

She watched as Murdoch stayed far from his opponent, circling it and shooting jets of water at it. Angered, the slakoth tried clawing its way through the torrents of water sprayed at it, a feeble attempt at a shield, but failing, as the water battered it about. The jets wet coming from all angles, it seemed to the pokémon. Water was getting into its curved nose, and into its mouth, suffocating it. With its lungs slowly filling with water, the slakoth's movements became less profound, and it lumbered its way towards its mocking opponent.

The battle ended shortly after, when the slakoth could take no more of this torture. It collapsed, with water surrounding it, breathing laboriously. Closing its eyes, it signalled its defeat, which caused shivers of excitement streaking up Alice's spine.

She waited for those crucial words, the words that would make this real. "Norman's slakoth has fainted. Alice's mudkip is the victor. The battle goes to Alice of Oldale."

Norman stepped down from the podium and made his way to the other side, towards Alice.

"Congratulations," he said weakly, a strained smile on his face, taking her hand. "This is a big achievement for a rookie. I hope you have learnt much from this battle." He pressed something into her palm, something hard and cold. She dared not release her grip until he left, scared that her emotions might frighten him, and the referee.

"Murdoch?" Alice called out to her pokémon, who had resumed skipping around happily, ignoring his brutal injuries. He turned his head when he heard his master's call, rushing obediently to her side, jumping onto her leg. "You did it Murdoch," she said breathlessly. It was a surreal feeling, one she could not comprehend. All that she could think of was that she had won. She was only a few steps behind Hayley, and gaining on her fast.

She left the gigantic arena and entered the lobby, where the receptionist stood behind his counter, waiting with a smile.

"Well done," he commented. "I knew you could do it." Alice blushed, seeming unsure of that. "Here is your prize for defeating the gym leader." Alice saw a thick wad of cash in his hand, which he handed to her.

"Wow..." Alice whispered, bewildered. She knew there was a money prize, but not that much. There must have been about $200. Even when she left for her journey, she had only received $50 from her parents (and subsequently lost half of that when she lost the battle against that macabre child earlier that day).

"Oh, if you think this is a lot, you'll be surprised when you reach your last few badges. Depending on your pokémons levels, you can get upwards of $3000."

Alice was speechless, and continued to be speechless until she left the building and opened up her clenched fist, revealing the silver badge in the shape of two small circles, connected with a thin rod. It looked perfect to Alice.

"Well, Murdoch, I think we should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day," Alice said, walking towards the direction of the Pokémon Centre.


End file.
